{"product_id":"the-thirty-years-war-europes-tragedy-peter-h-wilson-paperback","title":"The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy -- Peter H. Wilson, Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eA deadly continental struggle, the Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen defiant Bohemians tossed the Habsburg emperor's envoys from the castle windows in Prague in 1618, the Holy Roman Empire struck back with a vengeance. Bohemia was ravaged by mercenary troops in the first battle of a conflagration that would engulf Europe from Spain to Sweden. The sweeping narrative encompasses dramatic events and unforgettable individuals--the sack of Magdeburg; the Dutch revolt; the Swedish militant king Gustavus Adolphus; the imperial generals, opportunistic Wallenstein and pious Tilly; and crafty diplomat Cardinal Richelieu. In a major reassessment, Wilson argues that religion was not the catalyst, but one element in a lethal stew of political, social, and dynastic forces that fed the conflict. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy war's end a recognizably modern Europe had been created, but at what price? The Thirty Years War condemned the Germans to two centuries of internal division and international impotence and became a benchmark of brutality for centuries. As late as the 1960s, Germans placed it ahead of both world wars and the Black Death as their country's greatest disaster. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn understanding of the Thirty Years War is essential to comprehending modern European history. Wilson's masterful book will stand as the definitive account of this epic conflict. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFor a map of Central Europe in 1618, referenced on page XVI, please visit this book's page on the Harvard University Press website.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Peter H. Wilson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Belknap Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 1024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 3.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.40w x 2.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674062313","brand":"Peter H. Wilson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67989040038116,"sku":"9780674062313","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0611\/9587\/8628\/files\/9780674062313.jpg?v=1793174296","url":"https:\/\/bookandmortar.com\/products\/the-thirty-years-war-europes-tragedy-peter-h-wilson-paperback","provider":"BookandMortar","version":"1.0","type":"link"}